billh

Equal size and weight to Lister JP3. Bomb proof, reliable, sounds lovely,slow tickover. Our 3VRH is still in its original 1949 Ruston Bucyrus"10RB"and will be staying there. You're right, too big for a narrowboat and a lot of faff to fit a suitable reversing box,raised hand starting, different cooling circuit etc.

I understand that Ruda's engines complete with gearboxes went to the Internal Fire Museum in Wales,definitely not scrapped. We have two RFS2 industrial units in Hunslet locos here, one needing a major repair. Also, in varying states of dereliction,three RFR4 marine units. RFR means there is a reduction box on the back of the gearbox, ratio is 21/2:1. Otherwise the gearboxes are standard Ailsa Craig design.PM me if you think they could be any use to you. Bill

When I looked at the works plan the other day, I think a large area of the park adjacent is to be used for the site huts etc, so , probably can't see much . Dare I publish a photo taken in the winter of 16/17 of the work underway to narrow lock 11?

Sort it out ASAP by whatever means. Here's why: About ten years ago , an acquaintance got rats in the boat roof void. They could be heard scurrying about, mostly at night. The critters chose to eat, amongst other things , the insulation on the PVC mains wiring. This caused persistent RCD tripping at the shoreline connection. Without the RCD there could well have been a fire. The funny side of this was the boat was also home to a number of terrier type dogs who took absolutely no notice of what was going on over their heads. The rats left of their own accord, seems like the RCD protected them from electrocution.

I could not access the site from late afternoon yesterday until this morning. Everywhere else was ok. Using Safari browser 11.1.2, apparently last updated in July. I am more of the opinion that it was a CWF server problem , which looks to be fixed now rather than any problem with folks' browsers, obsolete or not. I haven't changed anything here and now it is working fine.

One of the lads at my school in the 1960s had a Messerschmitt like this , a dark blue one. When he left school he became a fighter pilot ( in the RAF). I wonder if he went on to own a (Triumph) Spitfire?

Has Hatfield had or still has any hand winches for bringing the Tom Puddings into line? Could be for operating those. There used to be small winches fitted to the various designs of BWB push tugs and certain small dredgers which used a similar sized device, though I haven't seen a variable throw one before, I can see that a high speed small throw would be handy to take up a lot of slack in the cables and a long throw for final tightening. Bill

We had this a few weeks ago only the pump was pulsing on briefly every few minutes with no taps on. Re- pressurised the air in the accumulator and the water in the pipes stays at pressure for several days even though the pump is switched off.

This is sad news, I've only just found out. I first met Brian in 1972 on the Ashton Canal restoration project. I was one of the volunteer working party organisers, Brian was a teacher at Smithills School in Bolton. He regularly brought a team of sixth formers to work on lock chamber clearances at week-ends, his was a very worthwhile contribution to the effort and resulted in the canal being re-opened for boats in 1974. Up until then, there had been little thought about restoring the Rochdale main line from Dale St to Sowerby Bridge. However, as Brian's work parties became redundant on the newly opened canal, his thoughts turned to the Rochdale and his quiet determination saw through restoration over many years of the Rochdale Canal by the 21st century. The Rochdale Canal can now be his memorial, Rest In Peace, Brian.

Some fake news going on there I suggest: "The Peak Forest and Macclesfield canals are set to open on 6th October once works at Lock 11 are completed. Locks will be open each day between 8am and 1pm for the first week and then, subject to water resources, will reopen as soon as possible afterwards." If we are talking about lock 11 at Marple, local intelligence reports that no physical work has been done on the lock since it was closed due to it becoming too narrow for narrowboats at the beginning of August. The C&RT stoppages list Marple being closed until March 2019. The lower Peak Forest , i.e. below Marple and the Ashton canal top level are currently kept 6-8 inches below normal water level because of leakage in Dukinfield, which makes the Lower Peak Forest practically unusable for anything bigger than a canoe, it's badly in need of dredging anyway. To sum up: the Peak Forest Canal , from Dukinfield Junction to Bugsworth will NOT be open as a through route any time soon and at an educated guess not till the middle of 2019 if we're lucky. If C&RT mean another Lock 11 (Bosley?) they should make that clear but the above comment still stands.

DIY here is a 1/4 inch socket extension bar with a cross bar welded on the male end. Neat, hard wearing and mostly shiny chrome vanadium . When they first became available, they were nicknamed "Leeds & Livvy Keys" , after the canal where they were originally fitted , at Wigan Locks, this was in 19 mumble mumble.(71?)

Take a look at: Sherwin- Williams Duraplate 301w Primer. A 2part epoxy that seems to stick to anything can be applied in virtually any moisture conditions and be immersed in 48 hours.Hardens fully after 5 days.Apparently for use on oil rigs etc. Then a S-W 2part top coat, colour of your choice. Arrange a mortgage before hand though.

Fifty or so years ago , working in and on the Ashton and Rochdale Canals, all the live ordnance we discovered was of British origin. Anti-aircraft shells, .303 bullets, hand grenades and a couple of clip-on tail fins for 250 pound bombs. Two hand grenades, found in central Manchester required, according to Bomb Disposal, a controlled explosion. This in the run up to Christmas needed temporary closure of Princess St and Whitworth St on a Saturday afternoon. I had noticed the safety pins on these grenades had rusted away and the levers(?) were held in place by muck and rust. A few years later we fished a German Luger pistol from the canal, we were dragging rubbish into a boat and it landed on the floor. There was great consternation at the local cop shop as we handed it to the PC on the front desk: "We just found this".....

Hi Richm, still apparent, nothing changed that I can see. Bill

It will be a Ruston-*Hornsby* 3YC, fitted in many, but not all, Ruston Bucyrus 10RB crane/excavators built after about 1955. The 10RB was discontinued in the late 1960's so all engines are a bit long in the tooth and new spares are a bit difficult. The suppliers quoted above will be more likely catering for spares for the bigger RBs which continued to be built until quite recently. The 3YC is a cracking engine but lacks any brass and copper bling so beloved by vintage boat engine enthusiasts. I hope you get it sorted.